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• E3405

  Equipment Location and Clearances

  International Residential Code, 2024 · Chapter 34, General RequirementsRead the full text (opens UpCodes in a new tab)

• E3405.1

  Working Space and Clearances

  • Working space is kept around electrical equipment; open doors may not shrink access below 24 in wide and 6.5 ft high; no foreign equipment in the zone 6 ft above panels, no storage, lit indoors (NEC 110.26).

  International Residential Code, 2024 · Chapter 34, General RequirementsRead the full text (opens UpCodes in a new tab)

• E3405.2

  Working Clearances for Energized Equipment and Panelboards

  • Work space in front of panels is 36 in deep, 30 in or the equipment width wide, 6.5 ft high, letting doors open 90 degrees; limited-access spaces need 22 x 22 in ceiling or 22 x 30 in crawl openings (NEC 110.26(A)).

  International Residential Code, 2024 · Chapter 34, General RequirementsRead the full text (opens UpCodes in a new tab)

• E3405.3

  Indoor Dedicated Panelboard Space

  • Indoors, the space from floor to 6 ft above a panel (or the structural ceiling) is reserved for electrical; pipes and ducts may run above only with leak protection; lay-in ceilings allowed (NEC 110.26(E)(1)).

  International Residential Code, 2024 · Chapter 34, General RequirementsRead the full text (opens UpCodes in a new tab)

• E3405.4

  Outdoor Dedicated Panelboard Space

  • Outdoors, the space from grade to 6 ft above a panel is reserved for electrical (NEC 110.26(E)(2)).

  International Residential Code, 2024 · Chapter 34, General RequirementsRead the full text (opens UpCodes in a new tab)

• E3405.5

  Location of Working Spaces and Equipment

  • Working space isn't storage, and panels and overcurrent devices can't be in clothes closets, bathrooms or over stairs (NEC 110.26(B), 240.24).

  International Residential Code, 2024 · Chapter 34, General RequirementsRead the full text (opens UpCodes in a new tab)

• E3405.6

  Access and Entrance to Working Space

  • Working space has access (NEC 110.26(C)(1)).

  International Residential Code, 2024 · Chapter 34, General RequirementsRead the full text (opens UpCodes in a new tab)

• E3405.7

  Illumination

  • Indoor service and panel working spaces have lighting not controlled only automatically (NEC 110.26(D)).

  International Residential Code, 2024 · Chapter 34, General RequirementsRead the full text (opens UpCodes in a new tab)

• E3405.8

  In Sight From (Within Sight From, Within Sight Of)

  • 'In sight from' means visible and within 50 ft (NEC 110.29).

  International Residential Code, 2024 · Chapter 34, General RequirementsRead the full text (opens UpCodes in a new tab)

Searches all 4,276 IRC 2024 sections, 5,532 IBC 2024 sections and defined terms (Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 so far) and each city's local rules as they are added. Section numbers and titles from the International Residential Code and International Building Code, 2024 editions, copyrighted by the International Code Council; the IRC's electrical chapters (34 to 43) follow NFPA 70, the National Electrical Code. Requirements are summarized in our words (IRC Chapters 3 to 43, IBC Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33); read the full text at the link on each result. Local values come from each city's published documents.